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Chemist vs quality control analyst

The differences between chemists and quality control analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a chemist has an average salary of $64,961, which is higher than the $59,217 average annual salary of a quality control analyst.

The top three skills for a chemist include chemistry, lab equipment and test results. The most important skills for a quality control analyst are QC, lab equipment, and microbiology.

Chemist vs quality control analyst overview

ChemistQuality Control Analyst
Yearly salary$64,961$59,217
Hourly rate$31.23$28.47
Growth rate6%9%
Number of jobs20,22185,546
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4238
Years of experience--

What does a chemist do?

Chemists are generally responsible for observing and investigating chemical substances to create new and safe compounds essential for practical applications. They are often grouped depending on a particular area of specialization to focus and understand the complexities of the matter. A chemist usually takes time performing research and conducting experiments to test and further improve the quality and usage of a specific chemical substance. Chemists are expected to write on their observations and findings to establish scientific results.

What does a quality control analyst do?

Quality assurance representatives are professionals who are responsible for ensuring the quality of units produced or manufactured is following the standards set by the industry. These representatives supervise the entire production process to identify erroneous methods or tools being used by workers and observing produced for visible defects. They are required to perform various tests to check for the durability of the product and other desirable characteristics. Quality assurance representatives must also collaborate with the manufacturing engineer to implement quality control programs and preparing training manuals and quality guidelines.

Chemist vs quality control analyst salary

Chemists and quality control analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

ChemistQuality Control Analyst
Average salary$64,961$59,217
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $90,000Between $40,000 And $86,000
Highest paying CityWilmington, DERaleigh, NC
Highest paying stateDelawareNorth Carolina
Best paying companyMetaBarclays
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between chemist and quality control analyst education

There are a few differences between a chemist and a quality control analyst in terms of educational background:

ChemistQuality Control Analyst
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorChemistryBiology
Most common collegeUniversity of Southern CaliforniaStanford University

Chemist vs quality control analyst demographics

Here are the differences between chemists' and quality control analysts' demographics:

ChemistQuality Control Analyst
Average age4238
Gender ratioMale, 59.6% Female, 40.4%Male, 45.7% Female, 54.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 18.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 12.8% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage5%8%

Differences between chemist and quality control analyst duties and responsibilities

Chemist example responsibilities.

  • Lead QA, engineering, and operations training events.
  • Achieve and maintain ISO 9001-2000 certification by creating and implementing policies and serving as management representative.
  • Perform analysis of drug substance and drug product using HPLC, GC, dissolution and UV/VIS.
  • Utilize IR, AA, UV, HPLC and other chemical analysis equipment to assess product quality.
  • Prepare solutions to run on HPLC, ICP and AA instruments.
  • Involve in operation and preventative maintenance of LC/MS, GC/FID, and HPLC instrumentation.
  • Show more

Quality control analyst example responsibilities.

  • SAP, Trackwise and outlook manage.
  • Approve QC laboratory data ensuring correct GLP and GMP guidelines are follow and validate procedures are utilize.
  • Train and assist junior chemist to ensure completion of all testing on HPLC, GC, and UPLC.
  • Detect unknown concentrations of metals and toluene in waste water by AA and GC with purge and trap attachments.
  • Contract for environmental monitoring need to qualify facilities for GMP operations.
  • Monitor, calibrate and troubleshoot laboratory equipment to ensure proper compliance with procedures and accuracy of test results.
  • Show more

Chemist vs quality control analyst skills

Common chemist skills
  • Chemistry, 20%
  • Lab Equipment, 7%
  • Test Results, 7%
  • Product Development, 5%
  • Method Development, 5%
  • HPLC, 5%
Common quality control analyst skills
  • QC, 13%
  • Lab Equipment, 5%
  • Microbiology, 4%
  • Test Methods, 4%
  • HPLC, 3%
  • FDA, 3%

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